The Steamboat Pilot & Today

Margaret Hair

Margaret Hair's column appears Fridays in the 4 Points arts and entertainment section in the Steamboat Today. Contact her at 871-4204 or e-mail mhair@steamboatpilot.com.

There are a couple of ways to define a “classic” record.

You could call it by the millions of copies sold worldwide. You could measure it by the number of bands that specifically list the album as an influence. You could count the number of hit singles.

So what makes “Exodus” — recorded by Bob Marley & the Wailers in 1977 — a classic?

Elan Atias, who took over vocal responsibilities for The Wailers for a few years in the late ’90s and is back with the band after a solo stint, said it has to do with the easygoing vibe and universally appealing lyrics on songs such as “Three Little Birds,” “Jamming” and “One Love/People Get Ready.”

“Obviously they were written 30 years ago, but the lyrics stand through all time, I think,” Atias said in a phone interview. “They’re very deep but easy to understand, and everybody can relate to them. The majority of the world is wailing out — crying out — and that’s what The Wailers mean.”

Born the same year “Exodus” was originally released, the 31-year-old Atias said The Wailers’ audience has the same concerns now as it did in 1977. His band will perform the album in full Wednesday as part of the Ski Jam music festival.

“I think it’s more relative today than it was then,” he said about ‘Exodus.’ “There’s more wars, atrocities, hunger — there’s heightened everything, not only the economy but also the environment. There are so many more problems in the world, and I think that’s why the album and the lyrics and the music are more relevant today.”

The vibe and the feel of the music give it its world appeal, Atias said.

“The most important thing of the band overall, through the many years and through highs and lows, is the message and the movement. The message in the music (is) of taking people away from their worries and their problems,” he said. “I think to every person it delivers a message of what they’re going through at that time. Whatever they’re going through in their lives in their heads, it speaks to that person.”

A truly classic album stays relevant while maintaining its ability to let the listener escape. In its 37-minute run-time, “Exodus” has done that for more than 30 years.